The “Green” Effect
Safety Service Patrols Offer Tangible Environmental Benefits
By Tara Baukus Mello
Safety Service Patrols’ top benefit is motorist safety. A less often discussed, but extremely significant additional benefit of these patrols is their proven “green” effect of reducing pollution. By helping disabled motorists get off the road, traffic congestion decreases, so fewer cars sit idling and therefore fewer pollutants fill the air. “Service Patrols are one of many efforts that can help reduce emissions and improve local air quality and livability in general,” said Doug Hecox, spokesperson for the FHWA Office of Transportation.
While no data exists at the federal level about the environmental benefits of Safety Service Patrols, numerous regional studies have been conducted showing substantial reductions in greenhouse gases.
In Los Angeles, which has one of the largest patrols in the country, the environmental benefits have been one measure of the effectiveness of the Metro Freeway Service Patrol since 2004 and have shown a steady improvement over the years. With a minimum of four minutes of congestion created for every disabled vehicle incident, the Metro FSP program’s environmental benefits are dramatic. In a 2007-2008 fiscal year study by LA Metro on the measures of the effectiveness of the FSP, Reactive Organic Gases (ROG) Savings were calculated at 411/kg a day, while daily CO and NOx Savings were calculated at 8,935/kg and 1,333/kg respectively.
“While there’s no silver bullet in solving this issue, the FSP program helps by reducing emissions and greenhouse gases that are a constant threat to the overall health and well-being of Los Angeles County and its residents,” said Ken Coleman, Metro Motorist Services Program Manager.
In the Hampton Roads, Virginia area, service patrols reduced ROG, CO and NOx emissions by 28,000/kg, 1,500/kg and 6,300/kg respectively annually, while the San Francisco Bay Area logged an annual savings of 444.9/ton CO, 95.1/ton NOx, 18.6/ton ROG for the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the most recent study. “Initially we viewed the FSP as a congestion-relief program, but today we see two other clear benefits—motorist safety and improved air quality,” said Jaime Maldonado, the Bay Area FSP senior program coordinator.
Both a 2006 Benefits Analysis for the Georgia Department of Transportation NaviGAtor Program Final Report, completed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the 2001 Benefits of ARTIMIS study, conducted by Cambridge Systematics in Ohio, have looked at cost savings associated with the emissions reduction. In the Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area, the Advanced Regional Traffic Interactive Management and Information System, of which the Service Patrol is a component, saves $12 million annually in its emissions reductions alone, according to George Saylor, Ohio DOT Senior ITS Engineer. A similar program, called NaviGAtor, in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area, of which service patrols are a part, was calculated to save $20.2 million yearly, according to a US DOT 2003 study.
Without these efforts to reduce emissions, the U.S. faces tremendous financial impacts. A Tufts University study indicates that, if left unchecked, global warming could cost the U.S. economy $3.8 trillion annually by the year 2100. While associate research scientist Lance Dougald of the Virginia Transportation Research Council notes that the environmental impacts of Service Patrols have a far greater impact in urban areas versus in rural areas with lower traffic volumes, the emissions benefits of patrols are one component in the larger green initiatives designed to curb global warming.